Forrest Gates
Forrest Gates was an agent of The Initiative and a UC Sunnydale student. Biography Much like Riley Finn, Forrest was forced to lead a double life and balance his military service with his cover of university student. Initially, he liked Buffy Summers (he found her hot) and encouraged Riley to pursue a relationship with her. However, after the two began dating and Buffy briefly joined the Initiative, Forrest quickly began to resent her for both her un-military attitude and the effect she was having on Riley. After Riley left the Initiative, Forrest placed the blame for this squarely at Buffy's feet and made no effort to conceal his hatred, a feeling that was mutual. One night, as Forrest and Buffy traded barbs after the two patrolled a cave together (having coincidentally been about to anyway), the two ran into Adam. Despite Buffy telling him to leave, Forrest attempted to shoot Adam with his tazer only to find the techno-demonoid could absorb the power. Adam then killed Forrest by impaling him with his Polgara skewer. Reanimation After being killed, Forrest's body was taken by Adam, who performed a procedure similar to the one used on him and transformed Forrest into a bio-mechanical demonoid, replacing most of his body - save for most of his face, except ears and lower jaw, and his left arm - with that of a spotted, clawed reptilian demon and minor cybernetic enhancements. Unlike Adam, however, Forrest was not animated by a Uranium 235 core. Forrest quickly adjusted to his new condition and looked forward to fight and kill Buffy. He also looked forward for Riley to be transformed into a fellow demonoid. Under Adam's orders, he tried to decapitate Spike, who had demanded for his behavior modifier to be removed though he had failed to lure Buffy to the Initiative lab alone. However, Spike managed to escape after jabbing Forrest in the eye with a lit cigarette. When Buffy appeared at Adam's secret lab to rescue Riley, Forrest finally got his chance and attacked her. After Riley managed to remove the behavior modifier from his shoulder and aid Buffy, she left him to confront Adam, while Riley remained to fight his former friend. Though Forrest easily outmatched Riley, he eventually met his end when he hoisted a gas canister over his head, which caught a live wire and blew him to pieces. Powers and Abilities When he was alive, Forrest was secretly fed with the same drugs and steroids by Professor Walsh. These drugs granted Forrest enhanced strength and stamina, allowing him to hold his own in fight against demons. After his transformation, Forrest possessed the strength of the demon his own body had been replaced with, thus making him stronger than Slayers and vampires. He also had a number of cybernetic implants, which presumably would have allowed him to interface with computer systems and the Behavior Modifiers Walsh had implanted in her top agents. He also seemed to possess a high pain threshold, as he only showed signs of minor discomfort after Spike jabbed a lit cigarette in his eye; nonetheless, it was just enough for Spike to escape. Personality Forrest represented the epitome of what the Initiative looked for in its agents: loyalty and unquestioning obedience. He followed orders from his superiors without second guessing or doubt and had a black-and-white, materialistic perspective of life, immediately certain that Walsh must have tried to kill Buffy for a valid reason rather than assume that Walsh was under the control of something else. He also showed prejudice against non-humans, openly declaring that he killed any and all demons on sight. Forrest also displayed a more ruthless outlook early on, willing to use Buffy, who he assumed was an innocent civilian, as bait to re-capture Spike, an idea which Riley rejected. His disgust for Buffy was not just because she had drawn Riley away from his friends, but mostly because he considered her a dangerous influence, as she made Riley question orders and think for himself. After his transformation, Forrest kept the same perspective, though any capacity for human doubt and sensitivity had been replaced with the single-mindedness and ruthlessness Walsh sought in her creations. His old "family", the Initiative, was replaced by the army Adam planned on creating and of which Forrest hoped Riley would become part. Behind the Scenes *He was portrayed by Leonard Roberts. *Leonard Roberts has remarked that he's often mistaken for having played the character Charles Gunn by fans of the two shows. *The bio-mechanical demonoid enemies featured in the Initiative level of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds all resemble Forrest's cyborg body. Appearances Category:Scooby Gang enemies Category:The Initiative Category:314 Project Category:Undead beings Category:Robots and cyborgs Category:Deceased individuals Category:Males Category:Sunnydale residents Category:Military Category:UC Sunnydale students Category:Vampire hunters Category:Demon hunters Category:The Bronze patrons